TestimonialsEver since we started CLLIP intervention group, my kids have gained self-confidence and are participating a lot more, which was not happening at the beginning of the year. -6th grade teacher |
Approach to ImplementationThe current implementation of the CLLIP provides school districts and communities with a comprehensive approach to literacy reform with many important dimensions contributing to the enthusiastic response of participants. The unique professional development component of the CLLIP, for example, includes an in-depth two-year training of educators in areas of literacy theory and practice across reading, writing and oral language domains, in contrast to the short-term and limited opportunities usually availing through in-service training. Educators learn research-based strategies in the literacy areas of phonemic awareness, comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency that is leveled for the grade level they teach. During this immersion of best practice training, educators learn how to assess, diagnose, and prescribe literacy strategies which target the specific needs of their students. Even veteran teachers have reported benefits in the improvement of their assessment and teaching skills. Educators are supported by mentors, coached by speech-language pathologist-literacy coordinators, and supervised by professionals with extensive backgrounds in language and literacy. Equally significant to the training of teachers is the training provided to school principals to align their depth of knowledge with the educators within their charge. The CLLIP is a literacy initiative that effectively identifies and shapes motivation among district leaders, refines expectations through an involved selection process, and teaches stakeholders a collaborative ethic that builds student, professional, and financial capacity. Evidence suggests that an initial substantial investment in teacher training continues to yield growth in student achievement long after the intervention is complete, as teachers sharpen their newly developed skills with successive students. Teachers have also been motivated to share new knowledge and train colleagues in their schools at no additional expense to the district. The CLLIP also offers training and intervention strategies which concentrate on prevention of literacy failure in students. One example is the component that kindergarten students and their parents experience entitled Project EASE (Jordan, Snow & Porche, 2000). Emphasis is placed on the connection between home and school through guided parent-child interaction. This partnership between school and home is designed to encourage the efficacy of parents in a team effort with teachers to foster the language and literacy development of children though increased enjoyment and effectiveness of parent-child reading practices. |